Appalachian Trail: Food Extra

For those who are wondering what I eat on the Appalachian Trail (AT), here is a typical list for one day's worth of food and a few tidbits of food info:

Food Item	Qty	Total Calories
Mountain House Dehydrated Meal	1	500 - 800
Clif Builder Bars	2	560
Clif Bars	2	500
Belvita Breakfast Biscuits	1 Pack of Four	230
Snickers Bars	2	500
Honey Bun	1	360 - 540
Trail Mix + P.B. Bites	1	900
Tortillas	2	280
Peanut Butter (for the tortillas)	4 Tbsp	360
	Total:	3,550 - 4,030

Typical day's worth of hiker fuel.

• Items change depending on what's available at the store I'm supplying at.
• The mountain house meal is my dinner.  All other items are eaten during my hiking day or when I arrive at my destination.   The number of calories does vary depending on what I can buy. One thing I may have to experiment with is replacing the mountain house meals with things like mac & cheese, instant mashed potatoes, and knorr pasta/rice sides - basically anything that can be made using only boiling water. These things are more complicated to make and clean up after but they can be cheaper and more compact.
• Most hikers struggle with getting diversity in their food choices.  I have always been an eat the same stuff every day type of guy so the lack of different foods doesn't bother me much.
• I take a multivitamin as the food is more calorie oriented than nutritionally oriented.
• My food bag holds about five days worth.  I may be able to fit more if I replace the mountain house meals.  I really don't want to carry more food since each day weighs over two pounds but some stretches of the AT will require more food.  Of course, the food weight goes down as it is consumed.  So, when you leave resupply towns your pack is heavy and it is much lighter when you go back into town.
• My favorite thing here is the tortillas and peanut butter.
• These calories do not make up for the calories burned hiking every day.  The calorie gap is filled when I enter a town and chow down.

P.S.:  Did you know they make Cookie Butter? It looks like peanut butter but tastes like cookies!  How did I not know this?